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NHEXAS PHASE I PROJECT

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Description:

The National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) is a federal interagency research effort coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD). Many previous studies focused on one type of exposure to one chemical. The goal of NHEXAS is to better understand the complete picture of human exposure to toxic chemicals, by looking at humans' many exposures to all types of toxic chemicals. EPA coordinated this major research effort, working with the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology.

Phase I consists of demonstration/scoping studies using probability-based sampling designs. Volunteer participants were randomly selected from several areas of the U.S. These studies included personal exposure, residential concentration, and biomarker measurements. The Arizona study was conducted in Arizona, and measured metals, pesticides, and VOCs. The study was conducted by the University of Arizona, Battelle Memorial Institute, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Maryland study was conducted in Maryland, and measured metals, pesticides, and PAHs. The study was conducted by Harvard University, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, and Westat. The Region 5 study was conducted in EPA's Region 5 (Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota), and measured metals and VOCs. The study was conducted by the Research Triangle Institute and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute.

Researchers worked with the participants to measure the level of chemicals in the air they breathed; in foods and beverages they consumed, including drinking water; in the soil and dust around their homes; and in their blood and urine. Participants completed questionnaires to help identify possible sources of chemical exposure. Sample collection occurred between in 1995 and 1997. The confidentiality of participants is strictly protected. Information about the studies can be found in the related study entries in EIMS and in the Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1995.

NOTE: The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through its Office of Research and Development (ORD), partially funded and collaborated in the research described here. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by EPA for use.